Contact Information: Georgina Hanigan
Director of Community Relations
Phone: 808-919-6640
Email: hanigagj@dukes.jmu.edu
HONOLULU– The Honolulu Hammerheads are proud to announce a mentorship campaign for at-risk youth through The Lionheart Foundation’s Power Source Program. This mentorship program will kick off at the start of the 2019-20 season and the mentorship program will be hosted at The Hawaiian Airlines Stadium’s clubhouse.
Hammerhead’s owner, Shemar Preston said, “We are thrilled to be working with The Lionheart Foundation. They have been doing some great work with at-risk youth throughout the United States. We wanted to give back to the community and help create a safer place to live. Our players are excited to meet with the kids and help them reach their full potential”.
The overall crime rate in Honolulu is 20% higher than the national average. For every 100,000 people, there were 251 daily crimes that happen in Honolulu. In Honolulu, you have a 1 in 30 chance of becoming a victim of any crime. Honolulu shows a crime rate that is 8% higher than the Hawaii average. Juvenile arrests accounted for 15.0% of crimes committed in 2016.
“The Power Source Program was created to empower at-risk youth with the social, emotional, and behavioral skills associated with paths of healthy development and permanent disengagement from the prison pipeline said Robin Casarjian, the founder of The Lionheart Foundation. “We are excited that the Hammerheads want to be involved in such an important program and provide mentorship to the at-risk youth in Honolulu”.
According to Bethany Casarjian, the clinical director of the Lionheart Foundation “this evidence-based and widely embraced program helps adolescents learn effective strategies to manage challenging emotions, reduce engagement in interpersonal violence, heal from histories of trauma, discover alternative coping strategies to substance abuse, while equipping them with the skills that promise success in school, the workplace, and in the larger world”.
This program will involve both group and one-on-one settings with 10 trained facilitators. There will be 100 students involved in the pilot program and the Hammerheads hope to grow this program in years to come. All Hammerheads players will receive training on how to interact with at-risk youth so that they will effectively help the high schoolers during the group and one-on-one sessions.